Jose Molina is the DH tonight which means Joe Maddon is trolling us now. Why is he the DH? Because Andy Pettitte is really tough on lefties and not so tough on righties. But here’s the problem, the righties that hit Pettitte are probably still decent-to-good hitters. Molina is not on the team because of his bat. Matt Joyce and Kelly Johnson, both lefties, are both on the bench. And what happens later in the game when a right-handed reliever is brought into the game? Maddon can’t use Joyce or Johnson to pinch-hit for Molina because Jose Lobaton might get hurt. Just like BJ Upton batting leadoff versus lefties, sometimes Maddon becomes too obsessed with the starting pitcher at the expense of more important at bats later in the game (Upton was good vs LHP, but he sucked late in those same games, creating a net negative). That being said, Molina will probably hit for the cycle tonight and Maddon will sing into his glass of wine after the game.

Assuming you need a pinch hitter in the 8th, you only really have to worry if Lobaton gets hurt in the at bat following Joyce/Johnson. In that unlikely scenario, just use someone as an emergency catcher.

If you're pinch hitting in the 9th the likelihood of having to pitch again is <50% because you're pinch hitting in the 9th....